Phantoms and Shadows
by Snickerer
Summary: Thieves don't mix well. Especially when Shadow Magic gets involved. And the aftermath continues... –Crossover, sequel to Pharaohs and Phantoms–
1. Thieves

Disclaimer: don't own them, just this possible set of reactions.

Sequel to "Pharaohs and Phantoms".  
I'll probably move this one to the YGO section because it focuses more on them. Unless anyone minds?

As per my new policy, anonymous reviews get answered in my profile.

_(Edited 3/06)_

* * *

_/So, exactly what happened last night?_/ Schoolbag in hand, Yugi hurried down the stairs, mentally reaching out to the ancient spirit within the golden Puzzle around his neck. 

There was an answering sense of wry amusement. **_/Oh, we had a visitor. I'm sure you can guess who./_**

_/A little hard to miss, since I tripped over the new rosebush growing in our room. Nothing serious, I hope?_/ Yugi smiled and waved at his grandfather on his way past the kitchen.

**_/No, no. I think he was just bored and decided to stop by. He left once I told him to–/_**

The thought was cut off and replaced by wariness, a sense that something was out of place. The pyramid-shaped artifact glowed for a moment as the two minds automatically switched places in a heartbeat. It was Yami who reached the front door and opened it to find a large, beribboned cardboard box tied with an oversized bow blocked the steps, which he regarded with the suspicion of one who had encountered Pegasus' sense of humor. Having the souls of one's friends and family stolen by an insane millionaire with an obsession with cartoon characters does not make for much trust of the unexpected.

_/Um. Should we be worried right about now? This sort of thing tends to lead to the world needing saving again./_

**_/We haven't had a good track record with mysterious packages,_/** Yami agreed, remembering the unexpected deliveries that had twice before heralded gaming tournaments and the various evil plots that had turned out to be behind them. **_/But I don't feel anything sinister from this one, and I think I might know who it's from…/_**

Letting his guard down only slightly, Yami carefully approached the box, ready to draw on the power of the Millennium Puzzle in an instant should it be necessary. At a touch on the ribbon the box sprang open in a shower of confetti, revealing rows of neatly secured knives and a note, which read:

"Delivery for one Yami Yugi, as per request,  
All pointy items from the home of one Spirit of the Millennium Ring,  
with the exceptions only of said spirit's hair   
and the five pointers on the Millennium Ring.   
I trust this will be satisfactory to fulfill the conditions.   
Signed,   
1412_" _

A caricature of a grinning Kaitou Kid decorated the bottom corner. Other than the breach of protocol of being issued after the theft rather than before, it matched the signature heist notices of said International Thief 1412 perfectly.

Yami stared at the note, then at the contents of the box. There were certainly enough of them for the Tomb Robber's arsenal to have been completely cleaned out. He had the sneaking suspicion he recognized one that Yami Bakura kept in his boot and another he'd glimpsed in a wrist sheath.

_/Um, Yami? Is there something I should know about?_/ A tentative query curled into his awareness.

Yami blinked, still staring at the contents of the box, and then began to laugh. The former Pharaoh threw his head back, his deep, rich chuckle filling the street.

**_/I didn't think he'd take me seriously…/_**

Shaking his head slightly, Yami briefly returned his attention to the box. "Alright," he said aloud to the seemingly empty neighborhood, voice laced with amusement, "All is forgiven. And for this, you get a favor. Within reason."

_/…do you really think he can hear you?_/

_**/Perhaps, perhaps not, but do you really think he would so something like this without setting up some means of finding out my reaction?**_/

_/Point./ _A surge of amusement flooded through the link. _/Oh, dear__. We're going to have to watch out for _Yami Bakura's_ reaction!_/

_- - - - - _

"When I get my hands on whoever is responsible for this…!" Yami Bakura fumed. The spirit of the Millennium Ring didn't even attempt stealth as he stomped down the sidewalk, following the pointers of the Ring he had commanded to lead him to the guilty party.

Ryou was glad the ancient Egyptian spirit was also too agitated to bother with blocking him out. While he knew better than to let the Tomb Robber find out, he was partly amused that anyone would go to the trouble of removing all the bladed objects from his house, including the contents of the sewing box, razors, paint scrapers, and the ornamental sword from over the fireplace, and partly disturbed that anyone _could_ without being noticed, especially considering his yami.

Yami Bakura was just furious.

The pull from the activated pointers of the ring strengthened, and the spirit's steps quickened at a glimpse of white disappearing around the corner of a second-floor balcony, rounding the corner of the block before the culprit could vanish. Ryou goggled, unable to believe the sight before their shared eyes.

A figure in a white suit and cape, white top hat tied with a blue ribbon and monocle glinting in the morning sun, had just leapt from a roof to a branch of a large tree bordering the street. For one confused second Ryou almost thought it was one of their cards before common sense and his yami's lack of reaction told him it couldn't be. Upon more thorough inspection, there were a number of obvious differences, but that left the conclusion that this was an ordinary human. The idea that a normal boy had not only gotten the better of the Ring Spirit but was gallivanting around rooftops in that sort of outfit hardly seemed more plausible.

As far as Yami Bakura was concerned, however, the question was entirely academic.

"You!" he snarled.

"Ah, me?" the monocled apparition turned his head and blinked down quizzically, only to yelp as a blast of golden light crackled past his shoulder. While the white-suited figure managed to dodge, the branch he crouched on did not fare as well, and he let out a brief "Ack!" as the bough cracked and fell. Ryou mentally winced, both at the impending impact and at what his yami would do once he got his hands on this strange young man.

But instead of plunging down along with the falling branch, the stranger threw out an arm to the side, his billowing cape snapping out on a hang glider's rigid frame. While the tree had not been high enough for the glider to take off properly, the white-clad figure did manage to control his descent to land on the roof of the porch of the house nearby. Turning, he collapsed the glider and with a glance checked that he was still out of the irate Ring spirit's reach.

"Now what was that for? That wasn't very polite at all," he admonished in a tone of mock-injured innocence.

Yami Bakura did not dignify the comment with a reply. At least, not a verbal one.

Only the phantom's agility saved him from the Man-Eater Bug that suddenly materialized on the roof behind him. Unfortunately, while his backflip did take him out of reach of the snapping jaws, it also took him off the roof. He landed easily, only to realize that the furious Egyptian spirit now had a clear shot at him. One glance at the Man-Eater Bug heading toward the edge of the roof ruled out that avenue of escape, so with a hurried but polite tip of his hat the white-suited magician made to depart toward the street, away from both the summoned Duel Monster and possessed teen.

And then demonstrated that his skills of direction reversal were also in perfect working order as a Possessed Painting materialized at the curb and a clawed hand tried to grab him.

Yami Bakura smirked, relishing the look on what was visible of the impudent mortal's face, and the Millennium Ring glowed and spat sizzling orange fire before the stranger could make another move. The way blocked on either side, the white-suited figure vainly threw up a cape-shrouded arm to block the attack speeding toward him.

" Barrier Circle!" A familiar voice commanded, and the blast splashed off an invisible cylindrical wall in a harmless flare of colored light. The spirit of the Ring whirled to see Yami perched halfway over a fence, Puzzle glowing with Shadow Magic and arm still extended from triggering the magic card.

"Pharaoh," Yami Bakura sneered, white hair bristling. "Meddling in my affairs, as usual? I suppose you're going to tell me this scum is under your protection, hmm?"

The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle blinked, managing to make incredulity look regal. "What on earth are you talking about? He went after my Puzzle yesterday, so I get first claim on him."

The Ring's spirit opened his mouth and then shut it again. "You mean you saved him so that you could punish him yourself?"

Yami arched an eyebrow. "What do you think I would do to someone who tried to steal my Puzzle?" He pulled himself the rest of the way over the fence and dropped lightly to the ground.

Yami Bakura glared. Then he glanced at the white-cloaked Kaitou watching them both inscrutably from within the protection of Yami's Barrier Circle.

And then he grinned nastily.

"Very well, then, oh _Pharaoh_," he drawled sarcastically. "I defer to your…_superior_ claim."

Yami inclined his head regally in acknowledgment, ignoring the sarcasm, and strode forward past the other spirit. He stood silently scrutinizing the thief for a moment, and then the Puzzle flared and the two disappeared into the swirling darkness of the Shadow Realm. Yami Bakura folded his arms below where the Ring rested against his chest and leaned against a tree, sharp brown eyes studying the area intently. He did not have long to wait before the cloud dissipated, revealing Yami standing where he had been and no sign of the caped phantom.

"Only one out of two," Yami Bakura said with a theatrical sigh. "Ah well, guess we can't have everything."

"Good morning to you, too."

The Ring's spirit let his arms fall to his sides. "You banished him to the Shadow Realm, then? Unpleasantly, I trust."

Yami merely smirked and inclined his head slightly. "Good day to you, Tomb Robber." And he walked away.

Yami Bakura snorted before returning to the Ring. Ryou wobbled slightly at the abrupt return of control and sighed to himself as he got his bearings and broke into a trot toward school.

"At least this time the mess happened in more or less the right direction, so I won't be too late…"

* * *

Comments treasured. Criticism desperately needed. 


	2. Monsters

Disclaimer: don't own them, just the results of their aquaintance.

If you hadn't figured it out, this is a Magic Kaito/Yu-Gi-Oh crossover.   
If you're not familiar with Magic Kaito, then the basic in a very small nutshell: Kaito Kuroba learned his magic tricks from hisfather, a world-famous stage magician who died when Kaito was ten. When Kaito later discovered his father was also the notorious Kaitou Kid, a phantom thief with a signature of sending notices in riddle form before heists, he took up the Kid's mantle himself in order to draw out the men that killed his father.   
He's gotten pretty good at it. And nothing says he can't have fun in the process.

Does anyone know why this site seems to enjoy eating punctuation and spaces? At least hyphens show up now.

And as per usual, anonymous reviews get answered in my profile.

_(Edited 3/06)_

* * *

"You know, the Shadow Realm is going to consider you one of my monsters now."

"…I'm sorry, could you please repeat that? I must have not dodged that last attack as well as I thought, because my ears seem to be malfunctioning. I could have sworn you just called me a playing card. One of _your_ playing cards, even."

"I'm serious. I had to let it do that in order for my magic card to work on you."

"I thought you could just point and the magic would work."

"Shadow Magic doesn't work that way. It's fundamentally designed for battle, and there have to be clear delineations between which side is yours and which side isn't."

"I thought it was a game!"

"It is. A game is merely another name for a contest, is it not? The stakes are what make the difference."

"And which part of this says I'm a Duel Monster?"

"In order for a magic card to apply to you, the Shadow Realm _had_ to treat you as a monster. _My_ monster, to fall under my protections. And once that's done, it is almost impossible for it to be undone."

"Almost impossible?"

"Oh, there are ways, but trust me, you wouldn't like them. The price is not something you would want to pay."

"…"

"I'm sorry, I really am. Both of us are. But if that blast had hit you...well, perhaps it's better that you not know, but trust me, it would have been infinitely worse than this. We had to do something, and in the time we had…"

"What _exactly_ did you do? I mean, I know you used a magic card on me, but what does that mean? I'm not a vampire or something now, am I?"

"No, no, you're still fully human, just like Yugi."

"…"

"Don't look at me like that, it's true. There's just…more to you as well, that's all."

"If I have a tail now, I swear that –"

"That is _not_ what I meant. And no, you don't. At least, not if you didn't start with one."

"Very funny. So what's different about me now?"

"Not much, really. The main difference is that the Shadow Realm tends not to notice most humans unless they get involved in Shadow Games, but it sees _you_ as one of its own. That's how you can survive here in the Shadow Realm almost unprotected without feeling any real ill effects."

"Unprotected?"

"Almost, yes. You haven't been shielded by my Item since I used it to get us here. This may be one of the relatively hospitable areas of the Shadow Realm, but it would still drain an ordinary mortal within minutes."

"…I just thought it was a bit chilly in here."

"That's because the Shadow Realm sees you as belonging here, so you are now somewhat linked to Shadow Magic. You have vulnerabilities to the same avenues of attack as any Duel Monster, but you are also under certain protections, especially since you're recognized as belonging to my deck."

"That doesn't sound like 'not much different'."

"Unless you get mixed up in more Shadow Games, you shouldn't notice any difference. It really just means that if you're attacked with Shadow Magic, it'll hurt you in a different way than ordinary people. It's not accepted practice to attack specific monsters rather than the duelists who hold them, though, and as part of my deck, you're under my protection. You can't be attacked directly through the Shadows without me noticing and getting very displeased with whoever tried, and you can learn to use Shadow Magic to defend yourself and attack as a monster instead of a duelist."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"It's not that bad, you know."

"If I learn Shadow Magic, will I be able to use it in the real world, too?"

"I don't see why you couldn't, at least some of it."

"You said you owed me a favor."

"I did."

"Well, I'd like to call it in. Can you teach me Shadow Magic?"

"Certainly not right now, and not monster-type Shadow Magic. I use mostly the Item-based, duelist and Shadow Game magics."

"But–"

"I can, however, arrange for a teacher who _would_ know. If he agrees, we can set up arrangements for lessons."

"Wh–"

"However, we have to go now, or we'll both be late. I'll help you a bit and send you out right at the school."

"Wait–"

"I will see you later."

- - - - -

_/…Teleporting the other person somewhere else is not a legitimate means of winning a discussion, Yami_./

**_/But it does work./_**

_/Maybe, but it wasn't very nice to dump him at school still in his costume./_

_**/I left him on the roof and made sure he was out of anyone's sight. There's no way he would have neglected to have a change of clothing hidden. The worst that happened was a brief scare, and you know how long that lasts on him./**_

_/True./_

_**/Besides, you know he'll find a way to get back at me if he's really miffed. …I should actually make sure he's not before I have him learn any Shadow Magic./**_

_/Speaking of which, I thought you were planning to have one of our monsters teach him anyway since it's sort of our fault he needs to learn. Why didn't you tell him when he tried to use the favor we promised him?_/

_**/I would like to point out I never said he'd used it up. But it doesn't make any real difference. He is one of our monsters, so we are responsible for him. If he needed help, I would be honor bound to provide it if I could./**_

_/So he can call on us anytime he needs to, he just doesn't know about it./_

_**/Exactly. Oh, he'll be told eventually, but until then…/**_

_/…if he doesn't know about it, he won't be tempted to abuse it./_

_**/Though he'll probably be too busy with his lessons for the next few months to even consider it anyway./**_

_/Who were you going to ask to teach him?_/

_**/I was actually going to ask the Dark Magician./**_

_/The Dark Magician?_/

_**/Who better to teach magic tricks? Not to mention he's had experience teaching before./**_

_/Huh. But wouldn't he have to be a spellcaster or something to learn from the Dark Magician?_/

_**/I actually think he's a light-type monster. There probably isn't a 'thief' category. But it shouldn't matter much. I don't think he'd be interested in learning the Dark Magic Attack anyway./**_

_/Good point. Hey, you said he's one of our monsters now, right?_/

_**/Yes, he is./**_

_/What would happen if we called on him in a duel?_/

_**/…Let's not try that unless it becomes absolutely necessary./**_

* * *

Comments treasured. Criticism desperately needed.


	3. Witches

Disclaimer: don't own them, just the continuing scenario.

Happy New Year, everyone, and a new chapter to go with it! And as a bonus, the quasi-sidefic 'New Tricks' is up, too.  
Though I'm afraid it'll be a while until the next update, since I managed to injure my hand and typing is slow going.

Thanks to those of you who've let me know you like the story! If getting noticed by the crossover goddess herself isn't an incentive to continue, I don't know what is. (grins)

And as per usual, anonymous reviews get answered in my profile.

_(Edited 3/06)_

* * *

Akako was not a happy witch.

Someone had been messing around with _her_ phantom thief.

She had seen it as soon as he had walked through the classroom door, her shock great enough to break through to show on her face. His aura, normally brighter than that of most mortals, was eclipsed by a thick, enveloping shroud of foreign magic. The dancing rainbow corona of playfully shifting hues she had grown accustomed to flickered dimly from the depths of the dark cloud wrapped around him. Despite all the difficulty she had had with enchanting him, some other practitioner of the dark arts had ensnared him…!

He had greeted her as though nothing was wrong, right up until she had sprung from her desk and pinned him to the wall, demanding to know what had happened to him. Who had _dared_ bind the elusive prey she had set her sights on?

He had denied any knowledge whatsoever of what she was talking about. Not that she had believed him, since he also denied being the Kaitou Kid, but she couldn't get any other answer out of him.

"There's no such thing as magic," he had said with a smile, right before pulling a pack of cards out of thin air and beginning to shuffle them expertly, fanning them out into the shape of a flower that was suddenly a real carnation, which he stuck into a buttonhole and then used to squirt water at another classmate.

It only made it worse that she knew he really _wasn't_ using magic. It wouldn't have been so bad if he had been a sorcerer, someone with power. But he was merely a magician with only that silly sleight-of-hand to call on, just like any mortal with a few card tricks. And yet her spells _still_ couldn't control him.

She had released him then, and he had leapt lightly over the desks to his own seat, greeting Aoko on the way with a shower of confetti. Akako firmly repressed the impulse to snarl at the common, unglamourous, mop-wielding girl who had captured the magician's heart when her magic had failed, and didn't even have the sense to realize it. What did it matter if they had known each other since they were small children? The tomboy was nowhere near as attractive as Akako, not to mention how her father was the loudly obsessed head of the taskforce dedicated to attempting to capture the Kid!

She felt a bit better when Kaito dropped a frog into Hakuba's bag when the detective wasn't looking. The English detective had irked her greatly when he had discovered Kaito's secret on his own. She herself only figured it out because of the prophecy; knowing that all men save the Kaitou Kid were to be her slaves, it didn't take a genius to put two and two together when Kaito proved immune to her spells. But she _would_ have him eventually, she _would!_ And no arrogant blond boy in a silly coat and hat was going to arrest him before she was finished! No one would win against him before she did!

Even this thrice-becursed other enchanter.

Or maybe she wouldn't stop at three, once she knew who to cast them on.

With nothing better to do, she had continued to study the strange, dark magic she could feel overlying her classmate; it wasn't as though whatever the teacher was blathering about this time was important. Once she had had a more careful look, it didn't look as though it had changed his basic nature in any detectable way. But it moved with him so naturally she might not have realized it wasn't supposed to be there if she hadn't known how he should have been, which told her it had its hooks in deep, far deeper than even her voodoo doll had managed. The power itself was strange, dark and clinging like shadows, yet she would swear there was light deep within, content to let its glow be hidden beneath the obscuring surface tendrils. She could almost make out currents within it, and ties leading elsewhere, but she couldn't follow them to their source. It was so _frustrating_. She'd never been denied anything like this before she'd met Kaito!

Determined that this mysterious other warlock would not get the better of her, she continued to keep an eye on the slippery magician. The darkness grew stronger around him as the days passed, which worried her. But the sense of light hidden within grew stronger too, though it lagged a few days behind.

The only explanation she could think of was that Kaito was somehow changing the strange power, making it his own somehow merely by being himself.

She wasn't sure whether to be glad that he seemed to be winning or annoyed that it might be harder to use her own powers on him again.

So she paid more attention than usual to Kaito one afternoon when he seemed oddly distracted. He hid it well, but was sending questing glances around the classroom, at her and Hakuba before dismissing them and continuing the search. Even as he sat, head propped on a hand and elbow resting on the desk, appearing bored with the teacher, he seemed to be trying to locate the source of some elusive sound that no one but him could hear.

And so Akako was watching when suddenly something…_shifted_. For a second she thought he had slumped, but his position hadn't changed. Yet there _was_ something different about his posture, an abrupt lessening of the coiled energy that they had all come to associate with the young magician. And his eyes…when she leaned over to get a look, it was as though some of the life had gone out of them. Oh, they were as bright a shade of blue as ever, but their bright sparkle just wasn't there. When he noticed her staring, he grinned and pulled a string of flags out of his ear, but the trick somehow didn't seem as surprising as usual, the grin less infectious.

When she thought to check with magic sight, the dark cloud was gone as though it had never been.

But his aura, despite the removal of the obscurity that had enveloped it, seemed weaker. The shape of the slender, ethereal flames dancing in a thin outline around his form was the same, but they were misty pastels no brighter than those of his mundane classmates, if still somewhat more colorful.

Kaito still seemed to behave as usual, but somehow his antics lacked their usual oomph. The entire atmosphere of the classroom seemed to reflect it, the other students subdued without quite knowing why. Even Aoko and Hakuba seemed vaguely aware that something was amiss, though the latter's suspicious stare at Kaito was probably more on general principles than any actual observation; Kaito had certainly caused enough mischief for him in both personas. Akako's own eyes narrowed in speculation.

She was ready by the time class to be dismissed, all preparations completed. As the other students started to stand up and get ready to leave, she bided her time, waiting for the exact moment. And it came, as Kaito turned to get up from his desk and made eye contact with her for a split second in passing.

And Akako threw most of the gathered power of her glamour over him.

She felt it catch instead of slipping away as it had always done before, and without wasting a moment called his name. And as she watched his eyes glazed over, his motion halted and head turned back toward her.

"Kaito," she murmured, watching his full attention lock on her. "Come to me."

"Yes, Miss Akako," his lips shaped. And he came, moving as though in a trance, walking through the other students to stand before her. A sense of exultation filled her. She had done it! She had finally brought him within her power!

"Do you like me, Kaito?" she tested, watching him carefully from beneath lowered lashes.

"Of course, Miss Akako."

"How much do you like me?"

"Immensely, Miss Akako."

His eyes were unfocused, but fixed unwaveringly in her direction. Akako smiled.

"Tell me how much you care for me."

"I adore you. You are the most beautiful girl in the world, and your eyes more radiant than the stars. I would like nothing more than to spend the rest of my life by your side. You have but to tell me what you desire, and I will do what I can to provide it."

There was little expression on his face or in his tone, but his voice did not waver, and all Akako cared about was whether his actions would back up his words. Her eyes swept the classroom, and she smiled again, less pleasantly. What better way to cement his bond to her than having him demonstrate it in front of their classmates? Even if he did eventually fight free, he would be trapped by public opinion.

And Aoko would have given up on him, leaving him nowhere else to go.

"Would you like to kiss me?" Akako asked him. Of course, his spell-rapt expression did not change.

"Of course, if you wish it, Miss Akako."

"Then do it now."

Kaito came to kneel at the edge of her desk. He gravely took her hand and planted a gentlemanly kiss upon it, then rose slightly to wait her instruction.

"Again," she commanded, "on the lips."

Akako felt a thrill of elation as Kaito unhesitatingly stood and leaned across the desk toward her. She tilted her head up to face him, stealing a glimpse out of the corner of her eye at the other students whose attention had been attracted by Kaito's earlier actions.

_All the better_, she thought in triumph.

Their faces were inches apart when Akako _felt_ something snap back into place, like a rubber band that had been pulled out to its full length and then let go. And she looked into Kaito's eyes as they instantly sparkled back to full awareness, all traces of her spell shattering like glass. The magician grinned at her then, that devastating grin full of delight in life heartstopping at close proximity, and swiftly moved closer still.

And the classroom was filled with a resounding honk as Kaito gleefully beeped the bright red clown's nose he had stuck on her and backflipped away, laughing.

The witch knew without bothering to look that his aura danced once more in its full glory, cloaked once more by the roiling nebula of darkness that her own powers could not overcome. And as Kaito caught up to Aoko, playfully scolding her at not waiting for him as they departed, the other students turned back to their own business, quickly forgetting about yet another of the magician's pranks. And Akako was left alone in the classroom, staring blackly at the far wall.

* * *

Comments treasured. Criticism desperately needed.


	4. Selves

(blinks dazedly) You know what I said last time about incentive to continue? It was apparently taken as a challenge. The response to the last chapter totally floored me. I fell off my chair at some of the names, and got some some of the nicest, most helpful, and incredibly supportive reviews I have ever received. Thanks, all of you. I guess I must be doing something right!

I think I've finally found a format for differentiating the mental speech that works. Previous chapters have been edited (grins at Helix1047), and YumeTakato, Dogmatix, Icka, and Ocianne? Bits that you asked for and/or suggested are addressed in this chapter. Hope this clarifies things for those of you who were confused.

And m'lady? I owe you major thanks for the beta-ing, inspiration, and support that actually got my plotbunnies to stop sulking and get this done.

And as per usual, anonymous reviews get answered in my profile.

* * *

/_He's not going to be happy with us…_/

**_/That is to be expected./_**

/_I mean he's going to be really Not Happy with us._/

**_/Yes. Which is why we are here./_**

/_I'm not so sure that's a good idea._/

**_/You would rather not face the consequences of our actions?_/**

/_…no. This has to be done. But that doesn't mean I'm not nervous._/

**_/I would be concerned if you weren't. He is not an adversary to take lightly./_**

/_I don't like thinking of him as an adversary._/

_**/Yes. And again, that is why we are here./**_

Yami Yugi in the truest sense of the name, the King of Games walked steadily through the eddying darkness of the Shadow Realm, merged minds silently conferring quick as thought.

/_Do you think he'll meet us soon?_/

_**/He has likely been waiting for some time already. I doubt it will be long before he shows himself./**_

Shared steps reached a part of the Shadows that would have seemed no different than any other to an ordinary mortal, but to the senses of an Item holder was something almost akin to what a clearing would be to a forest. And halted as a voice sounded from the darkness.

"I trust you have an _excellent_ explanation for this afternoon." Icicles glittered in the Kid's furiously polite tone. A monocle gleamed, slitted blue glaring for a moment from among the shadows.

Red-tipped black spikes above yellow bangs swayed gently in the unfelt breeze of the Shadow Realm as the holder of the Puzzle sighed. "How about saving the world? Again," the added mutter sounded suspiciously of Yugi.

"And this required me why?" Some of the chill had gone from the Kaitou's voice, but the dangerous crystalline edges remained.

The violet-eyed duelist was silent, memory from that afternoon flashing back to that moment of –

_Desperation, hidden in the face of his enemy's leering grin from across the arena. Letting nothing but confidence show, even as he looked at a hand that held nothing that could help him. Keen awareness of how vulnerable the last attack had left him, all his monsters on the field wiped out. Knowing as he looked at the field that this was bad, that it could really be the end, for _everyone

_Not losing courage, optimism, or hope, not by a long shot, but any mind so adapted to tactical thinking could not ignore the worst-case scenario, no matter how much faith in the eventual outcome. Trusting in the cards, he had drawn, keenly aware that the entire duel hinged on this, his only chance. _

_Only to find himself holding a card he had never set eyes on before and had never added to his deck. Not physically, at least, not as paper card and ink. _

_But he recognized it nevertheless. A card he had implicitly promised not to use._

_Yet there was no choice. He could instantly see at least three ways that his opponent could wipe him out on the next turn, and the face-down card on the other side of the field radiated foreboding. He had bluffed his way out of similar situations before, but the Heart of the Cards had been behind him then. It thrummed dangerously at him now, not threateningly but in warning._

_His own voice, ringing out clear and confident as he played the card, knowing that he would pay for it later. It might be anger, broken trust or broken souls, or betrayal of secrets – the smoothing of which from mortal minds by Shadow would carry its own price – or anything in between, but there would be a cost._

_But that was for later. Now he hid a wince as half his life points – half his life, here – drained away, Yugi's soul wrapping a warm, comforting ghostly embrace around the worst of the pain even as the darkness of Yami's strength shifted to better support his lighter side, knowing that his enemy only saw him standing straight and proud._

_White swirled, cape draping neatly around the shoulders of the white-suited kaitou that materialized on his side of the field. If there had been any surprise on that half-hidden face it was gone in a flash, leaving only a knowing half-smile that hinted that there was something the phantom knew that no one else did._

_Shoving apprehension to the back of his mind to deal with the now, smoothing his features into his own small unnerving smile. And from somewhere found the strength to laugh condescendingly as one of his enemy's monsters tried to attack, the creature's pale eyes widening and fanged jaw dropping in surprise when the slash hit nothing but pink smoke and the kaitou's monocle gleamed elsewhere from hat-brim shadow, slow shake of head announcing disappointment at such rude behavior. Again, and again, the enemy growing sloppy in desperation at not understanding why the white-caped Monster could not be destroyed. And in that panic, the enemy wasted turns that he did not. _

_Endless moments of keeping his features impassive, hiding his trembling relief at finally being able to draw the cards - the other cards - he needed._

_An agony of uncertainty whether his gamble would work, for he instinctively knew that this monster would not – could not – be used for a conventional attack. Too close to wounding, to _killing_, and it would break him beyond any repair. The warm, reassuring thrum of the Heart of the Cards, and he trusted, and gave the command. That face might have been a mask for all the reaction it showed, but a flicker, a swirl of smoke and pale shadow, and the phantom proved to be indeed a thief. Back on his side of the field, the card that had lurked ominously face down now held delicately between two gloved fingers, a small slip of card that vanished as an agile hand splayed wide._

_The opening he needed shone bright in the ever-changing array of strategy flickering within his mind, and he seized it. Two, three, four cards thrown into play without hesitation, the combination roaring to life and rushing devastation onto the monsters suddenly no longer protected – who vanished in moments – and then onward to the enemy behind them, whose mouth and eyes opened in horrified, disbelieving dismay as he fell into the abyss of defeat._

_For all that he may be a phantom, a kaitou is a gentleman thief, and he always returns what he steals. And so another flick, a card flying across the field to fall after its owner. Whose face twisted into an expression of hideous glee as he reached upward to activate the card, evidently thinking to take them down with him in spiteful revenge. _

_Only for the bilious yellow-green coils that emerged to bind him instead, the doomed enemy's look of sick triumph turning to shock and terrified despair as he disappeared beneath bindings of his own making far more hideous and inescapable than the void that closed over his head and took him from view._

_His own side of the field was already empty before he could take a breath to speak, the shadows dissolving even as he turned, leaving him in a city where he knew countless traps and agents of death were disintegrating at the breaking of their master's power… _

"…I had no other way." There was silence for a heartbeat, and then, more softly, "I'm sorry."

Yami Yugi closed his eyes. To anyone ordinary, or to an enemy, he would have seemed expressionless.

But the one who studied him was far from ordinary and had never in the ambiguity of his dealings with the King of Games been worse than an opponent. And knew much about masks, especially the ones you couldn't see. And so he looked, and saw truth, and apology. Not regret, never regret for saving everyone who mattered to him, and to them, and to all of _them_, but still sadness at the price that had to be paid for it. And yet full acknowledgement of what he had to do, and had done.

And full acceptance of the consequences.

"What do you mean, you had no other way?" The immediate danger had faded from the Kaitou's voice, but it was still as unyielding as a mountain. Yami Yugi raised his head and stared unflinchingly into the dark.

"If I had done anything else," he said quietly, "I would have lost. And everyone tied to us would have fallen as well."

There was silence for a long moment.

And then the Kaitou Kid materialized from between the shadows.

The spirit of the Puzzle relaxed, fading back from dominance; the phantom's greatest strengths lay in misdirection, so revealing himself meant that he did not intend to fight. But more important, it indicated that neither Yugi nor Yami was being considered an enemy. Their status as friend was uncertain, and it did not mean they had been forgiven, but they would at least be allowed the chance to try.

Glancing to the kaitou and receiving tacit permission, Yami Yugi turned his attention to their surroundings. The Millennium Puzzle around his neck glowed brightly as he used its power to shift the weave of the shadows around them, warding against casual eavesdroppers or interruption, nodding in satisfaction before turning back to the taller figure.

But nothing prepared the King of Games for the Kid's dry query, "And what part of this explains why I have two sets of memories of this afternoon?"

Two trains of thought screeched to a tangled halt.

"…what?" Yami Yugi managed after a moment, angular eyes wide and violet.

The monocle gleamed as the Kid regarded him. "I asked what part of that would explain why I can remember being in two places at once this afternoon."

Stunned thoughts flew back into activity, parallel minds sifting through the unfolding array of possibility. Analyzing, considering and discarding scenarios, entire branches of probability going dark. But a dizzying splay of golden lines remained, the true path and its associated implications impossible to distinguish without further information.

Yami Yugi's gaze flicked back to the Kaitou standing still and bright as the moon among shadows. "You mean you were aware of both the duel and your…uncostumed self?"

The Kaitou considered, then shook his head. "No. I remember both now, but at the time…" he gave a careless, one-shouldered shrug. "I was…where I was. Then I was on the field. But I also remember being out of costume the whole time, still where I was, feeling…odd and knowing that something had happened, but not knowing what. And then Akako started her tricks again..." The thief shrugged again. "You remember her, she's that sorceress, witch, whatever you wish to call it. The one who's convinced that I'm Kid because I keep breaking free of her spells." The phantom thief sniffed.

Yami Yugi resisted the impulse to point out the obvious.

"Anyway," the kaitou continued, "that's where the memories start being the same again. I snapped out of it inches away from doing something I would not have appreciated, and, well." He shrugged.

Yami Yugi's gaze sharpened. "This Akako claims that only the Kid can resist her spells?"

The kaitou nodded. "She seems to believe that if anyone can resist falling desperately in love with her at first sight, it's proof they have to be the Kid. But it is not as though Hakuba's groveling at her feet either."

"Hmm. You were the Kaitou Kid when I cast the magic over you, were you not?"

It took skill to make a monocle express ever-so-polite disbelief that the vaunted King of Games couldn't even keep that much straight, but the Kid managed it. "Yes," was all he said out loud.

Yami Yugi let it pass. "And it was the Kaitou Kid who came to my summons," he mused. The shorter boy's eyes started to brighten in a way that sent the phantom thief unobtrusively backpedaling, fully aware it meant that the flexible mental gears behind them had found a shape that worked.

"Well," the duelist said softly, and behind the monocle the Kid eyed that slight grin as if it were a piranha. "Interesting..."

"What?" Against his better judgment, the kaitou asked, though he did manage to sound as unconcerned as though commenting on Nakamori at a heist.

"It looks as though it is the Kaitou Kid who is bound to my deck."

The monocle regarded him again. "I know that. Didn't we already discuss this right after it happened?"

"You misunderstand. The Kid is bound to my deck, yes. But that is not all you are, is it?"

"What _are_ you talking about?" The monocle managed to convey concern about the Game King's continued mental health, such as it was.

"Kaito."

The Kid froze at the single word.

Yami Yugi regarded him evenly. "_That_ is what I meant." The white-caped phantom was completely, utterly still. Now it was the Puzzle holder's turn to sense racing thoughts flickering behind those hidden eyes.

Kuroba Kaito. The Kaitou Kid. Different mannerisms, different audiences, but he'd always thought of himself as the same person underneath. He was good at changing masks, after all.

But now the Kid was a creature of the Shadows. He knew it as surely as he could feel their texture around him, as easily as he'd stepped from that world to this between breaths.

And yet Kuroba Kaito...wasn't. Sorting back through his memories, he knew it to be true. Touched by them, perhaps, but not _of_ them. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, too concerned that confused first morning to notice that he shed the newly clinging Shadows along with his costume. He was still aware of where they whispered in that raw new awareness that had unfolded like another sense, one that he could no more ignore than he could shut his ears, but as he settled back into his daily routine of being Kaito the incorrigible prankster, resident classroom magician, the comforting blanket of normality seemed to muffle them to the point where he could tune them out.

And if they seemed to laugh alongside his ear as he soared in the night on white metal-framed wings, glorying with him in the thrill of the game, well, they never intruded too far or too close, so why begrudge them?

But then today, the myriad details of being a high school magician hadn't been enough to block the nagging itch in the back of his head, a tugging that grew stringer and stronger until something _jerked_ - and something wasn't right, he knew something wasn't right, he felt lightheaded, almost dizzy but he wasn't sure why -

But, then, it made perfect sense, really. Should the Kid be called to duel, why would Kuroba go as well?

And if it was the Kid that Akako couldn't control, and the Kid was away while Kuroba was still there…

"So."

The thoughtful sort of pause in which you could hear the echo of the world falling into a shape for someone.

"Can I see my card?"

The Kid could see the subtle shifts in the appearance of the teen in front of him that signaled that Yami was now dominant, though the lack of tension in the Puzzle owner's posture told him it was merely because the Pharaoh's spirit knew more about Shadow matters, not a preparation for conflict. Had it always been this obvious? He had been able to tell which of the two spirits he was talking to before the incident with the Magic Card - he'd always been good at reading people - but he had the sneaking suspicion that some part of him could now _feel_ the nuances of the shift through the Shadows…though he didn't need that extra sense to interpret Yami shaking his head.

"I'm not going to steal it, you know." He managed to keep the hurt out of his voice, sounding cool and unruffled as always.

Yami shook his head again, more vigorously. "No, no, it's not that at all! It's just…" he trailed off, trying to find the right words, "I'm not sure that it's even _possible_." He paused, and after a moment took out his deck, placing it facedown on an upturned palm and pulling up one cuff enough to expose the band of his Duel Disk. "A normal monster would only be anywhere near its card if there was a duel going on and it had been summoned. It might be able to see its card if summoned using a Duel Disk, but I don't think it would work without an opponent and an actual duel going on, and I doubt you would really want to try that."

The kaitou nodded.

Letting his sleeve fall and turning his attention to the deck he held, the Egyptian spirit continued, "When done purely through shadow, without the aid of a Disk, summoning is rather more literally through the cards…and the pictures are blank while those cards are in effect, leaving them little more than ordinary slips of paper as the powers within them are unleashed elsewhere."

Yami looked him straight in the eye. "And then there's your case. You are a Duel Monster, traveled here from your own realm without being summoned. I'm honestly not sure what bringing out your card would do to you." He hesitated. "Perhaps I am worrying over nothing…but there is a strong possibility that it would draw the Shadow Realm's attention to your – unique – status. It might decide you belong with all the other Duel Monsters, wherever they reside when not in play. Or you might be trapped within the card – or, worse, only that part of you that is bound to the deck might be." He shook his head slowly. "The Shadow Realm would not deliberately harm you, one it sees as its own – but it does not understand as we do, and might well see such an action as merely restoring matters to their rightful order."

The Puzzle spirit fell silent, eyes shadowed. When he lifted his head again, both the minds sharing that frame spoke as one. "I will not allow another friend to be trapped in such a way when I have the power to prevent it."

The phantom thief tilted his head forward ever so slightly in acknowledgement, brim of the blue-ribboned top hat casting his face farther into shadow.

"…Does that mean I can never see it, then?"

Yami Yugi hesitated. "As your normal self, in the normal world, I normally wouldn't hesitate to show it to you. The problem is…I never placed a card for you in my deck. I would not have, even if such a card existed. Yet there _was_ one during the duel, since it was a Shadow Game, and as far as I can tell the Shadow Realm determined that as part of my deck, you _should_ have a card within it. But I honestly don't know if I could find one there while in the real world. I might be able to, here and now…but what that might do to you when you are so close, while you are drawing on your Shadow nature..." The duelist shook his head slowly, troubled.

The phantom thief nodded, letting out an imperceptible sigh, and stepped back, turning away into the darkness. "I just wanted to know what it looks like." The mask was still calm, and if it weren't for the Shadows that linked them through his deck the duelist would never have noticed the weariness and faint resignation hidden behind the words.

"Actually…" The Kid turned his head back, attention caught, "_that_ much might just be possible."

Hand hovering over his deck, Yami Yugi closed his eyes and the Puzzle flared gold. The deck flared in response, golden light shooting up through his hand as though it wasn't there, forming a gold-outlined image of a card hovering several inches above the back of his hand like a hologram or a projection from a slide.

The taller boy ghosted closer, eyes widening in interest behind his monocle.

The name of the card was simply, "Kaitou Kid." Nothing to hint at his real identity or even that there was a real person. The picture showed only a monocle gleaming from darkness, clover charm dancing on its chain above a grin that was more hinted at than seen.

The phantom thief smiled, tension that he had not even been aware he had suppressed dissolving. "Does that mean that stuff you mentioned about being protected from the Shadows because I'm part of your deck only applies when I'm in costume?"

"No. You may not be my Monster then, but you're still my friend. And there's a whole different set of rules that go with that." The other teen smirked slightly, removing his hand and dispelling the illusion. The Puzzle returned to its normal state.

"I'm sure." The kaitou grinned, and then asked in genuine curiosity, "Would I be able to see the card that got me into this whole mess?"

"I don't see why that one would be a problem." Deft fingers flicked out a card, and the phantom thief gazed in fascination at the slip of paper that was responsible for making him a part of the world of Duels and Shadows. 'Barrier Circle,' the neat white lettering of the heading named the Magic Card. The picture showed merely a transparent cylinder of white light against a dark background, indistinct runes glowing faintly in circles surrounding it.

Watching, Yami Yugi could feel the link running between the two, echoed by the complex, less obvious shadow web that bound the Kid to the rest of his deck. The Puzzle holder could not bring himself to be surprised at the stronger bond.

Finally, the kaitou nodded and stepped back. "Very well," he said, tipping a gloved hand to the brim of his hat in salute. "Though it would certainly be nice to have some warning, should there ever be a next time…" The phantom vanished into the dark, clover charm glinting for a moment in sourceless light like a parting grin.

"You and me both," the Puzzle holder murmured, shaking his head. Turning, he began to walk in another direction, falling into the same precise stride that had brought him there.

/_I'm worried about this._/

Wordless agreement answered.

/_It was bad enough just knowing he was just one of our monsters. Now…what we summoned isn't even really him, just a part. It can't be good for him, being split like that._/

_**/We had no choice, I'm afraid./ Darkness pulsed with understanding and matching pain. /If it was a choice between being divided or death…/**_

/_I know. I'm just worried that using it more might, well, separate them, so that they're not the same person anymore_./

**_/They weren't entirely the same even before this, though, or the magic would not have taken hold in the manner that it did./_**

/ _I know…but it was like those were just two sides of him, and he was really the same underneath…_/

Shadows thinned around them with each step until the spiky-haired teen eventually emerged from the depths of an alley, continuing to its mouth and out onto bright, familiar streets without a break in stride. The turns back to the Game Shop came without the need for thought.

**_/I wonder if it's because of his additional persona that we _could _make him one of our own. If another of our friends was in danger…would it even work if we tried to shield, say, Joey with a card? Or Kaiba?_/**

A sudden bright shock of amusement, the mental image of a card with the picture of a highly annoyed Seto dressed in Egyptian regalia with the label 'Skeptical High Priest' floating across the link.

/_Can't you just imagine calling on him in a duel? Having him show up in full Egyptian costume complete with the Millennium Rod, only to have him start complaining and trying to chuck the thing away from him?_/

**_/It would probably stick to his hand if he did,_/** came the straight-faced reply.

Laughter bubbled bright across the link. /_Oh, I don't think I'm going to be able to keep a straight face the next time I see him–! _/

The bell above the door jingled as Yugi entered, seeming to announce the leaving of Shadow matters outside the bright shop where a boy waved a cheerful greeting to his grandfather and started off about the afternoon's chores.

* * *

Comments treasured. Criticism desperately needed.


End file.
